Inside María Corina Machado’s daring land, sea and air escape from Venezuela to collect her Nobel Peace Prize

Inside María Corina Machado’s daring land, sea and air escape from Venezuela to collect her Nobel Peace Prize

When María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for challenging Nicolás Maduro’s rule, there was one big problem. She was still trapped inside Venezuela, in hiding and under threat of arrest. Authorities had warned that if she travelled to Norway, she would be treated as a fugitive. For months, allies quietly planned how to get her out in time for the December ceremony in Oslo without being intercepted by security forces or caught in the middle of rising military tensions in the Caribbean, the Wal Street Journal reported.

The result was a tightly held escape plan that involved disguises, night driving through dozens of miles of territory controlled by the state, a pre-dawn sea crossing and a hastily arranged private jet. It was run by a clandestine Venezuelan network that has helped other dissidents flee and was coordinated with foreign partners who were anxious to avoid any tragic miscalculation at sea.

Slipping through 10 checkpoints in one night

Machado began her journey on Monday afternoon from a suburb of Caracas where she had been hiding for roughly a year. Wearing a wig and travelling in disguise, she set off with two trusted companions toward a small coastal fishing village. The route passed through 10 military checkpoints. At each stop, according to a person close to the operation, they risked discovery and immediate detention.

After about 10 tense hours on the road, they reached the coast around midnight. Machado rested only briefly before the next leg. At dawn, the group boarded a small wooden fishing skiff and pushed into the open Caribbean. Strong winds and rough water made the crossing to Curaçao slow and uncomfortable, but the real danger was not only the sea. In recent months, more than 20 small boats in the region had been destroyed in U.S. strikes on suspected drug traffickers, leaving over 80 people dead.

The network behind the escape says it made direct contact with the U.S. military before departure, alerting them to the boat’s identity and route to avoid any confusion with smuggling vessels. U.S. officials have denied key details of that account, but people close to Machado insist the call was a critical safety step.

From fishing boat to executive jet

Machado’s skiff reached Curaçao around mid-afternoon on Tuesday. On the island, she met a private contractor who specialises in extractions and who, according to those briefed on the mission, had backing and logistical help connected to the Trump administration. Exhausted and underweight after living in isolation, Machado checked into a hotel to rest while the final leg of her journey was prepared.

Waiting for her on the tarmac was an executive Embraer jet arranged by an associate in Miami. At sunrise on Wednesday, the plane took off from Curaçao, stopped in Bangor, Maine, for refuelling and border formalities, then continued on to Norway. Before boarding, Machado recorded a short audio message thanking those who had risked their lives to help her leave Venezuela. That message, circulated among supporters, underlined how narrowly the operation had succeeded.

Oslo celebration and Caracas fury

Machado landed in Oslo on Wednesday evening, just as guests were gathering for the Nobel ceremony. For hours, even the Norwegian Nobel Institute could not say where she was or whether she would appear in person. In the end, her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepted the prize on her behalf. The Nobel committee chair described her having endured a journey in conditions of “extreme danger”.

Later that night, Machado stepped onto the balcony of Oslo’s Grand Hotel, waving to a crowd of Venezuelan exiles and supporters who sang the national anthem and chanted “valiente”, or brave. Inside, dignitaries and lawmakers at the Nobel banquet traded details of the escape that were only just becoming public.

In Caracas, the Maduro government denounced the operation. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez accused Machado and the opposition of collaborating with the United States to plunder Venezuela’s oil and mineral wealth and mocked the ceremony in Norway as a failed spectacle. Officials have warned that Machado now faces arrest if she returns.

What her escape means for Venezuela’s opposition

Leaving the country carries obvious risks for an opposition leader who has built her appeal on confronting Maduro inside Venezuela. Other politicians forced into exile have seen their influence fade. Yet many Venezuelan activists argue that Machado’s presence abroad will strengthen their movement by allowing her to lobby governments in Europe and in Washington more effectively than she could from a secret safe house.

Machado has already backed the U.S. military buildup near Venezuela and argues that real pressure, including the threat of force, is needed to push Maduro toward genuine change. She insists she will return to Venezuela, as she has done after previous clandestine trips to Colombia to meet sympathetic leaders. For now, she plans a short rest in Oslo, followed by a tour of European capitals and an eventual visit to the United States, using her newfound global profile to keep the focus on Venezuela’s crisis and to test how far the Nobel spotlight can reach into Caracas.